Veteran sports anchor and ESPN5.com writer Charlie Cuna gives his two cents on the first week of the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner's Cup playoffs.
Game of the week
There were nine games played in the first week of the PBA Commissioner's Cup playoffs, where we saw the quarterfinals begin and end, and the semifinals got underway. Second-seeded Alaska quickly disposed of the Magnolia Hotshots in one game on Tuesday, but top seed Rain or Shine needed an extra outing to oust GlobalPort on Thursday. Ginebra dispatched Meralco in two straight games, and defending champion San Miguel Beer did the same with TNT. That set up the semis matchups, with ROS and Ginebra on one side and San Miguel and Alaska on the other.
The best game of the past week happened between GlobalPort and ROS on Tuesday. The Batang Pier needed to win to force a rubber match against the twice-to-beat Elasto Painters. Coach Caloy Garcia's squad looked primed to end the duel quickly, leading by as many as 16 points. However, GlobalPort never quit and fought back with a barrage of baskets late in the game and several stops, which eventually led to a game-winning three-pointer from Jonathan Grey, who finished with 22 points. It was the closest game of the week, the only one that really went down to the wire, and, for a moment, gave the lowest-seeded playoff team hope of scoring an upset. Alas, it was not meant to be for them, as ROS eliminated the Batang Pier on Thursday.
Top performance of the week by a local
Let's give it to James Yap. It was a throwback performance he had against GlobalPort on Thursday, in a must-win game for a semi-final seat. Yap shot booming triples from the outside, scattered his production mostly throughout the first three quarters, and gave Rain or Shine the much-needed cushion to withstand the late push of the Batang Pier in the 103-97 win. He had 27 points on 52-percent shooting (9/17 FGs, 7/10 on threes), five rebounds, and zero turnovers in almost 33 minutes. Vintage Big Game from James.
Top performance of the week by an import
Ginebra's "JB" may as well be "MJ" as Justin Brownlee has been Mister Do-it-all and Captain Score-at-will in the first few games of the playoffs. He averaged just over 30 points, 7.5 rebounds and assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 block, shooting 62 percent from the field in two games against Meralco in the quarterfinals. Even with those outstanding numbers, he saved his best for last in Game 1 of the semis series against ROS on Sunday, producing 35 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and four blocks, on 66-percent field goal percentage. Jordanesque indeed.
Diamon Simpson's 31-point, 24-rebound, 5-steal, 3-block effort in a loss to SMB on Saturday deserves special mention.
Disappointing performance of the week
The biggest disappointment for the week was not a performance of a particular player, but the effect of the absence of one. The Alaska-San Miguel semis series was much-anticipated, considering the recent playoff history between the two teams and their stellar performances so far in this conference. However, the night before their Game 1 battle on Saturday, Alaska guard Chris Banchero had to leave the country to attend to a family urgency in the US. His sudden absence (Alaska was not able to practice without him and make the necessary adjustments.) severely hampered the backcourt rotation of Coach Alex Compton. Banchero is an attacker on offense and a pillar on defense for the Aces. Without him, the SMB guards were relentless against the under-manned Alaska backcourt. The void for Alaska was apparent. Unfortunately, there is no timetable for his return, which does not bode well for his team moving forward, particularly against the Beermen, who are now fully operational.
Must-see for this week
Both semis series were touted to be dandies. After losing Game 1 of their respective best-of-5 series, ROS and Alaska are raring to bounce back. Every game from here on is a potential classic. Don't miss the continuation of the PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals, with all games live on ESPN5 and ESPN5.com.